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We were living in Vicenza, Italy, when I participated in a ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event was held at the American school on the military base, and part of the celebration involved students from the two sixth-grade classes reciting portions of Dr. King’s historic I Have a Dream speech.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s office released his state budget for fiscal year 2016 late last week, and if you work your way through the numbers in the document you will see a significant turning point in recent state history.

During the 2008 General Assembly session, lawmakers passed what was then Georgia’s largest budget ever, totaling $21.1 billion in state funds.

Later that year, the housing and construction industries collapsed, banks started failing across the country, and a meltdown in the financial markets nearly crashed the economy.

For several months when I was still a reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, I had a standing request with university officials to interview him for various news stories, but that request was never honored.

I’ve never even spoken to the man, although we’ve been in the same room on numerous occasions.

The first time I laid eyes on Azziz was three years ago on a chilly January morning.

I was a child then, but fully aware of the Marines and their fight to capture that small island in the Pacific 70 years ago. Since Iwo Jima’s landing strip was closer to Japan than any other U.S. base, this was an important objective in World War II. We could now – and did – win the war that much sooner.

As a Columbia County resident who will not be directly affected by the school rezoning, I felt compelled to express my opinion on the situation if for no other reason than to share a different perspective, a perspective that is without emotion attached or bias for my child or own personal agenda.

Hice and Loudermilk discovered quickly that those good feelings aren’t guaranteed to last long.

On their first official day as members of Congress, just a few hours after taking the oath of office, the duo had already angered many of their constituents and provoked the folks back home into seeking opposition for them when they run again in two years.

What did they do that was so awful? They voted with a large majority of their Republican colleagues to re-elect John Boehner, a veteran congressman from Ohio with a peculiar orange complexion, as the speaker of the House.

It was the second game of the night, the first being the junior varsity game that our third son is on. I’m only telling you all this to put into perspective just how often we darken the door of a gym. It’s wonderful and fun and I love every minute of it.

But it can also be intense, as I’m sure you know.

We sat and cheered the other night and were thoroughly enjoying a really close game.

Up and down the court went the players, a bucket here, an airball there. The teams were evenly matched, which always makes for an exciting time.